A pledge

I am fortunate to be heading to #aisl2018 in Atlanta in a few weeks and as I age become more experienced, I’ve learned to apply greater intention to my professional development. I find it easy to become overwhelmed with all that’s possible, and so aim to be more effective and efficient by setting some goals:

As in the past, I’ll focus on bringing 3 action items back for short-term implementation (any more and the whole list gets swamped by daily responsibilities; I’ll review longer term possibilities over the summer)

I’ll try a new format for my conference report (in the past, I’ve used Animoto and Canva – always good for me to learn something new)

I’ll work on balancing time with long-time colleagues (can’t wait to catch up with my roomie!) and connecting with new librarians

This last one is important. I’ve benefitted enormously from the wisdom and guidance of others, and it’s time to pay it forward. While sometimes in denial about the years flying by, I’ve been around for a while and there’s a new and exciting generation with whom I need to connect. As accountability it the key to whatever success I’ve found (clear to those of you who follow my @bookremarks Instagram account), I’m pledging here to sit on the bus with someone new throughout the conference. And I’ll report back on this at end of April.

4 Responses to A pledge

Hi, Shelagh! I agree with all your pre-conference comments, particularly that last one: “I’ll work on balancing time with long-time colleagues … and connecting with new librarians”. I think it’s vital, for the health of AISL but even more so for our own education, to make new connections every conference. It’s sometimes hard to remember this point as we reconnect with our colleagues of conferences past. I find it’s useful to try to sit with someone I don’t know (yet!) well for perhaps half the bus rides. Try it— you never know — maybe that new face will become an old friend and valued colleague.
Thanks for your post, Shelagh!

What great goals! And I love your comment about sitting with someone new on the bus rides; I still remember being a newbie a few years ago, and I really appreciated it when folks sat next to me and introduced themselves!

Word on the street is that your roomie can’t wait to catch up with you, as well. Love this post. I would love to see your Animoto conference report of the past(!). A few years ago, I started this weebly page where I either take notes or transpose handwritten notes, embedding pix that I take, that I share with my school via URL (https://katiearchambaultpd.weebly.com/). Just an idea. I challenge everyone to seek out new faces at the conference and introduce yourself. You’re right, you do have to balance the euphoria of reunion with the memory of what it felt like to be new that first year. Thank you for making us think, Shelagh. I can’t wait to see you (cue “Chariots of Fire” music).